Ask Slashdot: Have You Ever 'Ghosted' an Employer?

This entry was posted by Rebecca Ford on July 1, 2018 at 1:19 pm

“Suddenly, calls and texts went unreturned,” writes LinkedIn’s editor at large, describing a recruiter who suddenly discovered the candidate she’d wanted to hire failed to respond to 12 messages, including emails like “Please let me know that you have not been kidnapped by aliens. I’m worried about you,” and even a snail-mailed greeting card. Recruiters complain that prospective employees are now borrowing a practice from dating — and “ghosting” recruiters and employers to let them know that they’re not interested.

“Candidates agree to job interviews and fail to show up, never saying more. Some accept jobs, only to not appear for the first day of work, no reason given, of course. Instead of formally quitting, enduring a potentially awkward conversation with a manager, some employees leave and never return. Bosses realize they’ve quit only after a series of unsuccessful attempts to reach them…. Meredith Jones, an Indianapolis-based director of human resources for a national restaurant operator, now overbooks interviews, knowing up to 50 percent of candidates for entry-level roles likely won’t show up.”

Long-time Slashdot reader NormalVisual writes, “It’d be interesting to hear Slashdotters’ experience with this.”
Have you ever ghosted a potential employer, or perhaps more relevant, have you ever been ghosted by a potential employer during the hiring process? Do you feel it’s unprofessional, or simple justice for the behavior of some companies when the balance of power was more on their side?

Inc. magazine blames the low unemployment rate and “the effects technology have had on the communication style of younger generations.” But leave your own thoughts in the comments.
Does ghosting show a lack of professionalism, or is it simple payback for the way corporations treated job-seekers in the past? And have you ever “ghosted” an employer?